Total pages in book: 28
Estimated words: 26282 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 131(@200wpm)___ 105(@250wpm)___ 88(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26282 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 131(@200wpm)___ 105(@250wpm)___ 88(@300wpm)
We sit in the truck, crammed together as he holds me. He hasn’t said a word or tried to fix anything. He’s offered the comfort of his presence.
“Can we still get my stuff today?” I ask him, suddenly realizing I need to be done with Andy. I don’t want to see him anymore. I don’t want to think about him again. I want him out of my life, and if that means letting go of the auto shop, then so be it. I’ll build a new shop.
He keeps stroking my hair. “If that’s what you want.”
“It’s what I want,” I assure him.
The drive to the trailer doesn’t take long. When he pulls to a stop in front of it, I fight another wave of nausea. This place looks so broken down and ugly. How did I never notice that before?
“I hate this place,” I admit. Telling Roman that feels freeing. It’s hard when the place you call home is one you hate. Home should be a haven, and this trailer with my brother never was one for me.
He gives my hand a gentle squeeze. “Do you want me to go in for you?”
I shake my head. “I need to see it one last time.”
He follows me inside. Of course, he does. I never have to face anything alone now that I have my husband by my side. Still, I’m embarrassed for him to see the squalor I’ve been living in. It’s humiliating to step around puddles of bodily fluids and piles of trash.
Anger flickers across Roman space when he sees how I’ve been living. “He never should have let you live like this.”
“My parents were building a house on this property,” I explain. “But when they passed, my brother took all the money, including their life insurance, and gambled it away within weeks. He got this trailer because he won it off some guy in a game. It was a piece of shit even back then.”
“You will never come back here after today,” Roman promises and hugs me. “Now, come on. Five minutes and we’re out of here.”
I sort through my room quickly. I’ve never kept much in the way of things because I knew my brother was likely to gamble it away. For me, there was no purpose in collecting things. But there are a few pieces of my mom’s jewelry that I want and my father’s watch. I’ve managed to hide them away in a floorboard all this time.
I pack the jewelry and a few of my clothes that don’t smell too badly of mold. As I’m packing the last of my things, there’s a rattling noise at the front.
I send Roman a panicked look, worried that my brother sent some of his friends over to hurt us.
“I’ve got it.” He charges into the living room with the authority of a man that owns the whole world. I follow close behind him, terrified of what we’ll discover.
There are two men in the living room. Both of them are covered in tattoos and one of them keeps shaking, like he’s coming down from a high. “We’re looking for Andy.”
Roman sends the men a hard stare. “You know who I am, motherfuckers?”
The twitching man squints and elbows his friend in the ribs, clearly recognizing Roman as both powerful and dangerous.
Roman takes a step closer and the two of them flinch. “You tell your friends that Andy’s games are over. This is Roman’s town, and he doesn’t want you or your kind here. You got that?”
The twitching man sniffs and rubs his nose. “I got it, man. Be cool.”
“I’ll be cool when you get the fuck off my property.”
The men look at each other in alarm and quickly scurry out the front door. I listen to the screen door banging and turn to Roman. “I want to go home now.”
Without a word, he scoops me into his arms and carries me to the truck. When he gets in, he doesn’t start it for a moment. He senses that I’m still processing today.
I’m so embarrassed that Roman has seen this place, and that he knows my brother. I open my mouth to apologize to him for all of this when another truck pulls up and a large man exits the vehicle. I shiver because the guy looks tough, but he’s also familiar. He’s got tattoos and reddish hair with an unruly beard.
He scowls as he walks toward the truck, and I place him. His name is Grizz, the guy that runs the camping store in town. He gestures for Roman, and the two of us leave the vehicle.
He sets paperwork on the hood of the truck. “If you can get these signed now, I can get it all filed before close of business today.”
Roman takes the pen and manages to sign his name in a clumsy scroll. Then he taps a blank space and passes me the pen. “It’s your turn.”